Some philosophers, such as Jeremy Bentham, Baruch Spinoza, and Descartes, have hypothesized that the sensations of pain and pleasure are part of a continuum.
There is strong evidence of biological connections between the neurochemical pathways used for the perception of both pain and pleasure, as well as other psychological rewards.
Read more about Pain And Pleasure: Perception of Pleasure, Psychology of Pain and Pleasure (Reward-punishment System), Opioid and Dopamine Systems in Pain and Pleasure, Evolutionary Hypotheses For The Relationship Between Pain and Pleasure
Famous quotes containing the words pain and pleasure, pain and, pain and/or pleasure:
“God, for wise reasons, has made our affairs in this world, almost as fickle and capricious as ourselves.—Pain and pleasure, like light and darkness, succeed each other; and he that knows how to accommodate himself to their periodical returns, and can wisely extract the good from the evil,—knows only how to live.”
—Laurence Sterne (1713–1768)
“Pain and pleasure are infectious. It depresses us to be much with those who have suffered long and are still suffering; it refreshes us to be with those who have suffered little and are enjoying themselves. But it is good for us to be depressed now and then.”
—Samuel Butler (1835–1902)
“This last pain for the damned the Fathers found:
“They knew the bliss with which they were not crowned.””
—William Empson (1906–1984)
“I have cultivated my hysteria with pleasure and terror.”
—Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867)